The Department of the Interior
Big Bad Beast *The Department of the Interior (DoI) has been the arch-villian of the Liaden Universe since the first book -- Agent of Change -- was published about thirty years ago. *A vast, secret organization dedicated to the ascendancy of Liad, but to the destruction of Liad's clan-based, Delm-led system of authorityCarpe Diem, Trealla Fantrol (Access Grid 703) *They view Terrans as animals and things, using the pronoun "it" for themCarpe Diem *At least one member of the Liaden Council of Clans supports the DoI.I Dare Protocol Officer Her Nin yo'Vestra, Council of Clans, speaking to Kareen yos'Phelium: "There are a number of us -- members of another organization which also believes in the purity of Liaden ways." Daughter of Dragons *The DoI, and some Council members, hate The Scouts : **“There's always been a faction in the Council of Clans that wants to shut funding for the scouts off, or reduce it. Some of them don't want us doing anything that might benefit Terrans..."Breath’s Duty *The Department aims to destroy Clan Korval: **“"We have considered eliminating the current leader, Nova yos'Galan. The house is tainted with Terran blood”Carpe Diem, Liad **“The Plan encompassed the breaking of Korval. Break Korval and Liad wavered."Ghost Ship, chapter 9 *The DoI utilizes forbidden Old Tech, so The Uncle and his associates hide.Ghost Ship, chapter 11 *The DoI hunts down self-aware ships and other Independent Logics like BechimoGhost Ship and Dragon Ship Origins of DoI *There’s only speculation on The Department's origins, but it's been active for decades, possibly centuries: **Commander Bar Vad yo'Tornier: “Korval must fall. They had almost been eliminated twice now. The Commander blinked. This time, perhaps. On his watch.”Plan B, Liad / chapter 1 ***what were the first two attempts to destroy Korval? The bullet Aelliana took for Daav? Maybe the DoI murdered Delm Chi and Sae Zar, and attempted to kill Petrella? Maybe the Department incited “The Clan Wars” two centuries ago, which sorely weakened the clan.Space at Tinsori Light : **Commander yo'Tornier recalls an exercise he was taught years ago as an Agent-in-training. (Decades ago, probably.) Thus, the Department is not a newly hatched horror, and this Commander is clearly not the first Big Bad. I Dare, Day 52, Standard Year 1393, Department of Interior Command Headquarters, Liad *There is a strong likelihood that all Commanders of Agents are only mental copies (downloads) of some long-gone original goon: **Becoming Commander of Agents sen'Ager: "twelve dozen wires pierced her skull and sunk, burning, into her brain" **The wires-into-brain tech are also be used by the Lyre Institute (see Strings, Strands, and Vines in Motion at http://www.splinteruniverse.com Splinter Universe *"This room -- that chair -- downloads....the Commander of Agents"Dragon in Exile, Interlude Eight Access Grid 703 The Department of Interior's Goals and Mission Statement: "Allegiance to a single clan is addiction to an outdated and life-threatening philosophy...Terra seeks to overpower and annihilate us....Several clans have allowed Liaden blood to become diluted and have granted these half-breeds full rights...It is the part of the intelligent person to forswear allegiance to clan, and instead to ally himself with Liad, through this department. It is the prime objective of this department to establish the supremacy of Liad and true Liadens."Carpe Diem, Trealla Fantrol (Access Grid 703) DoI's Original Plan To control Liad by breaking Korval: "The Plan encompassed the breaking of Clan Korval. Break Korval and Liad wavered. Indeed. What had they of the Department accomplished but precisely that? Korval was on its knees, banished from the homeworld, its power base destroyed. As a result, the homeworld stumbled, and became more susceptible to manipulation. Agents of the Department who had long trained for this day were even now exploiting these new advantages." Ghost Ship, chapter 9 DoI's Adjusted Plan After Korval took out DoI HQ on LiadI Dare the new Commander of Agents, Iridyce sen'Ager, formed a new plan, with three prongs: 1. "Prevent Korval from building a position of strength at its new base, Surebleak, while harrying those of, and those affiliated with, Korval, whenever and wherever they were encountered." 2. "Strengthen the Department...Purchase allies." *It seems likely that the FTC (Federated Trade Commision) has sold out to the DoI.Ghost Ship, chapter 17 3. "Renew and intensify the search for operating Old Technology. Secondary Headquarters must be well defended. Impregnable." "The damned Scouts...The Scouts would be answered, and fully. As Korval would be answered. And, it would seem, the Juntavas, profit-driven no longer, and allied to Korval through marriage."Ghost Ship, chapter 18 DoI Headquarters Prime Headquarters: beneath Solcintra, Liad, in “the underground control center that would one day be the command post for a galaxy.”Carpe Diem, Liad **Prime Headquarters were destroyed when Clan Korval attacked Solcintra. Ghost Ship, chapter 9 *New Prime HQ: Runcible System, Daglyte Seam -- a guarded room and the downloading chair, where Iridyce sen'Ager, Commander of the Fourth Level, becomes the new Commander of AgentsGhost Ship, chapter 4 Making an Agent of Change Spies, assassins, and agent provocateurs / political manipulators *The DoI steals Liadens, including scouts thought eklykt’i, and twists them into mindless "agents of change” or support technicians, etc. *also steal pilots from Low Port in Liad (supposition, based on text)Mouse & Dragon, chapter 33 *also kidnaps off-world Liadens like Rys Lin pen'Chala Necessity's Child, chapter 33 *A machine re-makes them: **"It was thought that, instead of impersonating someone, an agent could become that person ... This could be accomplished by smoothing out the agent's own personality and overlaying a second... When the mission was done, the second personality would be removed and the agent allowed to emerge....It didn't work out very well. The only thing the machine did was eradicate, totally, the prime personality....The person was gone, irretrievably, though the body might live on to a very old age."Agent of Change, chapter 20 *A dramliza may be part of the process: **"Once the proto-agent is in a malleable state -- confused, in pain, and frightened -- someone with the necessary skill binds them to an...an alternate reality...To a lie...I very much fear that this someone must be one of the dramliz, though I cannot deduce whether she was herself corrupted, or came willing to the work."Dragon in Exile, chapter 11 *Agents also treated by specialists in biomed and exotic pharmaceuticalsCarpe Diem, Liad *The DoI equips agents with scout-class ships, credit cards, an electronic picklock, explosives, and other assassin's tools (pins, blades, garrots, doodads, wire, poisons, little pillows of acid), etc.Agent of Change, chapter 17-18 Loopy Agents *The Department's Probability Loop -- "the greatest of all an Agent's weapons"Plan B, chapter 1: Liad, Department of the Interior -- measures and displays Chance of Mission Success (CMS) and Chance of Personal Survival (CPS). "To some extent, it served as a predictor of coming action, and a strategy program."Agent of Change, chapter 1 *The Department's best agents -- including Scout Commander Val Con yos'Phelium -- are wired with the Loop, embedded with frequently changing access codesI Dare, Solcintra: Liad *The Loop has an energizing routineI Dare, Solcintra: Liad *The Loop is also implanted with a self-destruct subroutine and other mandates to ensure loyalty "to his mission, to the Department, and to the Plan"Plan B, chapter 1: Liad, Department of the Interior *If an agent suddenly regains his true mind, or if capture seems certain, the Loop initiates death: **"She accepted the Loop's Final Routine, suiciding to avoid capture."I Dare, Day 51 *An upgraded Loop was employed on Agent sig'Alda.Carpe Diem, Liad Timeline of Attacks Some of this is marked "supposition" but it's based on text. *Supposition -- DoI at work: When pilots disappear from Low Port in Liad, Delm Korval Chi yos'Phelium sends Daav yos'Phelium to investigate, with help from Juntavas boss Clarence O'Berin. For some time afterwards, it seems that the kidnapping has stopped, even though they never found the villain.(See The Beggar King in The Books (and other stories)) *1355: Delm Korval Chi yos'Phelium and Sae Zar yos'Phelium (A'thodelm and Master Trader) died on Ganjir. Murdered, possibly by the Department: **“Actions reducing the leadership of Korval have occurred in the past.”Carpe Diem, Liad (Commander might be referring to Aelli(Daav) and Anne Davis, or further back, to Chi and Sae Zar) *1360: In his quest for destroying the evidence linking Liaden language to Terran (evidence of a common mother tongue, which had given birth to to its disparate, triplet childern: Liaden, Terran, Yxtrang) Fil tor Kinrea, Linguistic Technician, Student of Advanced Studies, Local Custom, chapter 29 maybe with the help of other DOI agents instigated the destruction of the Language Department on University Local Custom, chapter 36, murderd Jin Del yo'Kera, Clan Yedon, Learned Doctor and Scholar Specialist in the field of Galactic Linguistics, of the Solcintra UniversityLocal Custom, chapter 26, and kidnapped as well as threatened Anne Davis and her little son Shan.Local Custom, chapter 36 (Supposition because Fil tor Kinrea frightens Shan - he has no sparkles) *Low Port pilot-stealing starts up again, and drifts up to Mid Port Daav investigates again, nearly dying because he "had a bounty on his head" (but Aelli and Clarence rescue him)Mouse & Dragon, chapter 34 **Suppose the DoI was responsible, stipulating that the DoI is the "Someone who is trying to set themselves up as boss" of the Low PortMouse & Dragon, chapter 35 *According to Neogenesis, eight years pass quickly after Daav marries Aelli (maybe only 7.3 years, see comments) and in Mouse & Dragon, on the morning before she dies Daav reflects on certain developments:: “Things had changed: The ports had grown chancier; Terran ports, if one were Liaden, chancier still. Ride the Luck carried weapons now...The Low Port pushed at its limits, reaching stealthy fingers out toward Mid Port's plump pockets, to the point that the Portmaster fielded more proctors, and the Pilots Guild offered warnings to those newly arrived, on a street-by-street basis.”Mouse & Dragon, chapter 37 *Aelliana takes a bullet intended for DaavMouse & Dragon, chapter 37 after 8 years of marriage.Neogenesis The Department incited the Terran shooter. Daav to Val Con: "since the assassin—say, rather, the one who had employed the assassin—so earnestly wished me to look to Terra for my villain, I could scarcely do less than accommodate him....Aelliana would never have wanted me to start a war in her name—even had it been absolutely certain that her death was called by Terra. Which it was by no means." I Dare, Day 50, SY1393, Lytaxin, Erob's Clanhouse and Gardens *About ten years pass. Anne Davis dies while Val Con is off with The Scouts. She was killed by racist Terrans, but they were manipulated by the DoI: "Clonak, my father wishes to know the name of Korval’s great enemy, that murdered his brother and his brother’s lifemate. You can tell him that, can’t you?” The older scout tipped his head. “Already did, but I don’t mind repeating it: Department of the Interior." I Dare, Day 50, SY1393, Lytaxin, Erob's Clanhouse and Gardens **Er Thom yos'Galan dies a year later, of heartbreak caused by DoI assassin.I Dare, Day 50, SY1393, Lytaxin, Erob's House *The DoI subverts Scout Commander Val Con yos'Phelium, making him an agent of change.Agent of Change Scout Commander Clonak ter'Meulen "fed" him to the Department, to defeat the enemy from within. "Who better?"I Dare, Day 50, SY1393, Lytaxin, Erob's Clanhouse and Gardens **Indeed, Val Con wins free after "more than three years" detached duty with the DoICarpe Diem, Liad: Solcintra ***Note: “Val Con yos'Phelium's recruitment as an Agent was a five-year program”Carpe Diem, Liad *SY 1392: The DoI incites a civil war on Lytaxin, to break Korval’s oldest ally, Clan Erob: “The various actions against Korval, including fomenting revolution on the world of Korval’s oldest trade partner, were necessary to reduce Korval’s influence and bring about the true ascendancy of Liad.”Plan B, Liad / chapter 1 **Val Con: “The odds that the Department of the Interior was instrumental in engineering the domestic dispute which preceded the Yxtrang invasion borders on certainty. Erob became a target because of its ties with Korval. They will try again.”I Dare, Day 51, SY1393, Lytaxin: Erob’s Clanhouse **Kea Tiazan, the Erob pilot intended for contract marrige to yos'Phelium, shot by Clan Kenso in the revolt Plan B, Liad / chapter 4, the DOI Commander about Korval's old ally and sometimes bedmate "More, there was rumor that one string, not yet strung to the bow of the alliance was now gone."Plan B, Liad / chapter 4 *The DoI attacks Scout HQ at Nev'Lorn (see Breath's Duty). *SY 1392: Clan Korval puts Operation Plan B into effect: **“Korval became aware of the Department. And, being Korval, measures—bold measures—had been taken. The Department found its name spoken in public places; long-stable funding sources came under scrutiny, several dummy accounts were unmasked and summarily closed by the Masters of the Accountants Guild, the funds returned to the Council of Clans....The clan vanished — ships, children, servants, and pets — all, all gone from Liad. Not quite all.”Plan B, Liad (ch 1) *Commander: "It would do Korval no good, should Dutiful Passage fall"Plan B, Liad: Dept of the Interior so DoI agents got into Korval warehouses, disguised as maintenance crew, and sabotaged the weapons stored there. Following Plan B procedure, Shan then ordered those weapons installed on Dutiful Passage, never guessing they were set to explodePlan B, Dutiful Passage: Jump *The DoI sent Kareen yos'Phelium's oldest friend / lover -- Protocol Officer Her Nin yo'Vestra, Council of Clans -- to subvert her at home, before she (finally) left Liad, as Plan B dictated. "He attempted to bribe me to overthrow the Line Direct in favor of my heir!" (see Daughter of Dragons) *Day 286, SY 1392, Teriste: Pat Rin yos'Phelium cannot access his bank funds safely at Teriste, so he gambles to win, until Agents try seducing him with Korval’s delmship (brand new ring): “All your kin are dead" -- but he's got Cheever McFarland and Inas Bhar "Natesa the Assassi" at his back I Dare, Day 286, SY 1392, Teriste Midport chapter and Casino District chapter *DoI sends agents to Lytaxin, to kill/capture Val Con, but they fail. They do wound Daav yos'Phelium / Aelliana I Dare, Day 50, SY1393, Lytaxin, Erob's Clanhouse and Gardens, I Dare, Day 51, SY 1393, Lytaxin, Erob's Grounds, who had just been seen and reunited with the HouseI Dare, Day 50, SY1393, Lytaxin, Erob's House *DoI ships are seen shadowing a Juntavas courier -- with Pat Rin's bank funds -- into Surebleak space.I Day, Day 44, SY1393, Surebleak *So Pat Rin obtains eight ships — for Surebleak’s planetary defense net — from Korval shipstacks in the Sherzer System, including asteroid miners in remarkably good repair marked “reserved”I Dare, Day 45, SY1393, Sherzer System *DoI ships fire on Pat Rin’s ship, Fortunes Reward, in Surebleak space. Piloting, Pat Rin fires back, destroying one ship.I Dare, Day 47, SY1393, Surebleak Space *DoI captures Mr. dea’Gauss at the Accountant’s Guild, but he manages to follow Chi yos'Phelium’s defense protocols, presaged decades ago.I Dare, ch 44 *DoI attempts to capture Anthora with dramliz box at Council of Clans meetingI Dare, ch 49 *Clan Korval /“Tree and Dragon” destroys DoI headquarters on Liad, charging them with kin stealing, murder, etc. Korval strikes Solcintra from space to destroy Old Tech planetary murder machines. Backup provided by The Scouts, the Clutch Turtles, the Juntavas, and The Mercs.I Dare **But some Scouts disagree with Korval, causing a schism (see The Scouts). **Some council members judge there was no DoI, and no just cause for Korval to attack. They banish Clan Korval from Liad. *Korval moves to Surebleak. New Commander of Agents sen'Ager doesn’t rest: "If the Department wished to rid itself of this impediment to the Plan, then it must strike while Korval was most vulnerable." *The Department, abetted by the FTC, attempts to kidnap or kill Theo Waitley and to steal or destroy her self-aware ship Bechimo on and near TokeoportGhost Ship, chapter 18 *DoI sends agents (including Rys Lin pel'Chala) to Surebleak to kill the pregnant Delm MiriGhost Ship *After the Department's strike at Jelaza Kazone failed, the Commander pulls all her agents off Surebleak because they lost the element of surprise.Ghost Ship, chapter 35 *But an agent stays on Surebleak and attempts to blow up the new schoolNecessity’s Child *DoI agents try to subvert Val Con's friends Hakan and Kemmie on planet Vandar (see Prodigal Son) *DoI hunter ships attempt to box in Bechimo at Ynsolt’i. The Struven is damaged.Dragon Ship *DoI hunter ships attempt to take Korval trade ship Pale Wing on the approach to Liltander, a busy trade hub.Alliance of Equals, chapter 6 *?? Possible DoI work: Padi, Sally, and Tech Tiazan placed under arrest by armed Chesselport Security, and escorted to the magistrate’s office, where they will be incarcerated, fined, or both...possibly executed for crimes against the planet Alliance of Equals, ch 8 *The Department attempts to destroy Korval's reputation as Tree-and-Dragon Trading Company, in some places successfullyAlliance of Equals *DoI assassins attempt to end Daav yos'Phelium, off-world, at pod 78, but The Uncle...Ghost Ship, epilogue *At Langlastport, DoI Dramliz Tarona Rusk attempts to subvert Shan::“You will be a jewel in the crown of the Department’s recruitment program.” Her agents go after Padi, to subvert her for the Department. In orbit, agents — or port authority dupes — try seeding the hull of Dutiful Passage with remote activation bombs. Lute and Moonhawk help defeat them. DoI fails. Shan frees Tarona’s mind in Healer Space, at great personal cost. Alliance of Equals, chapters 32-35 The Fight Goes Forward *The previous DoI Commander theorized: “Were Korval to abandon Liad and accept sanctuary from Terra, the balance long in favor of Liaden trade missions and Liaden expansion would be at risk. The children of yos’Galan were half-Terran.”Plan B, Liad / chapter 1 **“But the FTC (Federated Trade Commision) is probably allied with the DoI.Ghost Ship, chapter 17 *“According to the Scouts, the new commander of agents had set about recruiting more operatives.”Neogenesis *Rys Lin pen'Chala is leading a mission against the heart of the Department, with four freed agents: Vazineth ser'Trishan, Sye Mon van'Kie, Claidyne ven'Orikle, and Bon Vit Onida **"They were away, the five champions the Luck had selected to bring an end to Korval's...most recent...enemy, and his part -- uncharacteristic for Korval -- to sit in plain sight, and do nothing."Dragon in Exile, chapter 37 *The Juntavas anti-Department position: ““New Juntavas policy, straight from Chairman Reallan: whenever the Juntavas meets with operatives of the Department of the Interior, we’re taking them out. They’re no good for anybody’s business.”Dragon in Exile ch 25 *Dramliz Tarona Rusk went to wage war on the DoI: "I have key and codes, and knowledge, and I mean to use them well...I thank you for the gift of my life, and the opportunity to achieve Balance within it.".. **““That Witch will take a hundred lives,” Lute commented, “and confound your enemies, also.”Alliance of Equals, chapter 35 *And young Padi has accepted her inner dragon /dramliza. Korval’s Dead Deaths attributed to the Department. Speculation indicated. *Chi yos'Phelium, Korval herself Mouse & Dragon, chapter 39 (speculation) *Sae Zar yos'Galan, A'thodelm and Master Trader. He gave his life protecting Chi (speculation) *Petrella yos'Galan, eventually, from radiation poisoning, by the agents who killed Chi and Sae ZarLocal Custom (speculation) *Anne Davis -- The DoI manipulated fascist Terrans I Dare, Day 50, SY1393, Lytaxin, Erob's Clanhouse and Gardens *Er Thom yos'Galan -- died within a year of his lifemate Anne, due to heartbreakI Dare, Day 50, SY1393, Lytaxin, Erob's House *Aelliana Caylon -- Mouse & Dragon, chapter 37, Dol manipulated the Terran shooter. I Dare, Day 50, SY1393, Lytaxin, Erob's Clanhouse and Gardens *Daav yos'Phelium, attacked by DoI assassins, thought dead at pod 78: "left arm nearly severed, blood sheeting his face".Ghost Ship, epilogue *Jen Sin yos'Phelium -- supposition, as the DoI may have instigated the Clan Wars that put Jen Sin in so much danger, about two centuries ago (see Tinsori Light) *Numerous deaths to Korval's allies on Lytaxin, as the DoI instigated the civil war that ended before Val Con yos'Phelium brought Miri to meet her kin.Plan B, Liad / chapter 1, I Dare, Day 51, SY1393, Lytaxin: Erob’s Clanhouse DoI Commanders *Commander of Agents Bar Vad yo'Tornier, Solcintra -- deadI Dare *Commander of Agents Iridyce sen'Ager -- still alive? Promoted from Fourth Commander position when superiors died Ghost Ship, chapter 4 DoI Agents ��Free, won free from DoI control *Agent lar'Adrin -- (first name ?) -- bought Rys Lin pen'Chala from Jasin's brother, off Momma Liberty, fate unknown *Agent ter'Fendil -- (first name ?) -- used his Scout training to find OLD TECH for DoI. Captured by Val Con yos'Phelium and Anthora yos'Galan. Last seen alive, his fate is unclear I Dare *Beldyn chel'Mara Clan Aragon -- dead by suicide. She'd been a scout once.I Dare, Day 51, SY 1393, Lytaxin, Erob's Grounds Was she sister to the chel'Mara gambler who lost Ride the Luck to Aelliana? *��Bon Vit Onida -- now free, with coordinates to DoI's Secondary Headquarters. He gladly lost three decades to remove dark seed in his soul *��Claidyne ven'Orikle -- DoI Director, now free, with twin souls (schizophrenic? lifemate?). She has the location of the quaternary transfer point and the entry codes, to replace the current Comander of Agents with a freed agent, to shut everything down Dragon in Exile, interlude eight *Her Nin yo'Vestra -- Kareen yos'Phelium's oldest friend, Protocol Officer for Council of Clans, appointed to the League for the Purity of Language. Dead. *Isphet bar'Obin -- killed on Surebleak, shot in the chest by a youth Necesity's Child, chapter 37 *Kar Min pel'Mather -- chose to die, gratefully Dragon in Exile *Karin pel'Nara / Zhena Pelnara -- (see Prodigal Son) *Melsilee bar'Abit -- Senior field agent, dead by Val Con in self-defenseDragon in Exile, chapter 1 *Osa pel'Naria -- with two other agents (maybe pin'Eport and yos'Vinder) she attempted to kill or capture Theo Waitley and Arin's Toss on TokeoportGhost Ship, chapters 16-17 *Operative pin'Eport -- (first name not found) -- hunted Theo (Arin's Toss) and The Uncle's Smalltader on GondolaGhost Ship, chapters 10-11 *��Rys Lin pen'Chala -- Senior Field Agent sent to destroy Korval on SurebleakNecessity's Child, chapter 2, now free, a member of The Bedel and foster-brother to Val Con yos'PheliumNecessity's Child, epilogue *��Sye Mon van'Kie -- now free. He has the recall codes for the old machines that have been deployeda *��Tarona Rusk -- DoI dramliz controlling dozens of dramliz. Shan yos'Galan set her free.Alliance of Equals, chapter 34 *Operative Tir Sha yos'Vinder -- hunted Theo (Arin's Toss) and The Uncle's Smalltrader on GondolaGhost Ship, chapters 10-11 *Tyl Von sig'Alda Clan Rugare -- dead on planet Vandar by Cloud-accelerated Loop-icide. Had been a pilot-for-hire when DoI took him.Carpe Diem, Vandar: Winterfair *��Val Con yos'Phelium -- Senior Field Agent. Now free. Was handpicked from The Scouts. *��Vazineth ser'Trishan -- an agent, now free, by The Bedel's dream Rys made. Joined Rys's mission, along with Sye Mon van'Kie, Claidyne ven'Orikle, and Bon Vit Onida Dragon in Exile, chapter 31 **"They were away, the five champions the Luck had selected to bring an end to Korval's...most recent...enemy, and his part -- uncharacteristic for Korval -- to sit in plain sight, and do nothing."Dragon in Exile, chapter 37 References Category:Organization